EasyJet to become “leading airline in Berlin”

In a deal set to close in December, easyJet will pay €40 million for part of Air Berlin’s operations at Berlin Tegel Airport and become the leading airline in the German capital.

“This will enable easyJet to operate the leading short haul network at Tegel, connecting passengers to and from destinations across Germany and the rest of Europe,” said easyJet in a statement. “This is in addition to easyJet’s existing base at Berlin Schӧnefeld and would mean that easyJet would be the leading airline in Berlin.”

This move follows news in August that Air Berlin had filed for insolvency after Etihad Airways ceased providing financial support after years of losses. As the final flight of Air Berlin was taking place on Friday, easyJet was crafting a deal which sees it entering into leases for 25 A320 aircraft, taking over some of the landing slots, and taking on around 1,000 German pilots and cabin crew.

Air Berlin has now finished negotiations for the division of its assets. The airline was Germany’s second ranking airline and had around 8,000 employees. It has been able to continue operations since the loss of their main shareholder with the help of a loan from the German government.

This could mean that passengers in Berlin may struggle for flights this winter as easyJet plans to run a reduced schedule. Their goal is to be running a complete schedule by the summer of 2018. EasyJet added that new routes to and from the airport would be announced.

Following the deal, easyJet share prices saw an increase of 1.32% to £12.89.